NORFOLK SOUTHERN PRESENTS: PENN CENTRAL!!!

The LAST one???  What about the Lackawanna?

 

Stu

Even that looks decent!

 

Are we sure it's the right shade of black???

 

Rusty

on the norfolk southern page, it said that the black is a "sort of" brunswick green!!........go figure???...........rogerw.

 

lionelLLC...i didn't say that this was the "last" one, i said this was the latest one. i think that there are 2 more heritage engines to paint, and they will probably be released this week................rogerw.

 

the last 2 heritage units to be painted are: illinois terminal and lackawanna.............rogerw.

Roger,

 

You are right.  I read that too quickly.  I'm sorry.

 

Thanks for posting the photo.

 

Stu

LionelLLC.......no harm, no foul!!!..............rogerw.

I thought Norfolk Southern cancelled the Penn Central scheme. Does this mean Lionel will be making it now?

While this is a good looking unit, there's not a whole lot to "enjoy" about the Penn Central era. Those were very dark days for the railroad industry.

I hated the Penn Central and always vowed never to own anything on my layout that says Penn Central.  It reminds me of losing three of my favorite railroads, dirty ugly poorly maintained equipment and filthy dirty poorly maintained right of ways.

bluelinec4, why don't you say how you REALLY feel!!!!......lol...............rogerw.

The dullest looking of the bunch thus far, but certainly representative of the PC look back in the day.  Additional kudos to NS for not leaving any of the major "contributors" out of their lineup.

Is it me, or does that look too clean, and WAY too shiny. Seems like this one should have been factory weathered 

As I said above, the Penn Central era marked some very dark days for the railroad industry in general and Penn Central in particular. "Deferred Maintenance" seemed to be the only thing Penn Central knew how to do well.

I'll just reuse a post I made in another thread.

 

"There are plenty of good reasons the Penn Central still has a following. Many of us have fond memories of the railroad. Some of us had relatives that worked there. Many others enjoy and appreciate the wide and colorful array of motive power and equipment that was inherited by the merger. And some simply take a liking to the utilitarian engine paint schemes. I am a fan of the Penn Central for all the reasons above."

On my layout, I model a fantasy version of the Penn Central where the company is profitable and all equipment is well taken care of. So I am still really hoping Lionel makes this one.

Thanks for posting, Roger.

That's a good looking unit.  I could see this one selling well as it will look great MUed with the standard paint NS units.   The Nickel Plate Road is still my favorite one so I will be looking forward to that Lionel version.

And then there are some of for whom the PC and the Black and White behemoth GG-1s and E-44s racing up and down the NE Corridor in NJ was sight of amazement as a child.  The PC captured my imagination, got me hooked with the train bug, and I've got every book on the railroad, ever released.  I've written universty business papers on them.

 

Yes it was business fiasco (most won't acknowledge Pennsy, NH and NYC were already headed in that direction anyway and would have been there slightly later if not combined; deffered Maintenace was going on since WWII on all three already), but on the other side, it was the most diverse collection of equipment ever under one railroad comapny also.  The engines in their black and white, with a logo that was way ahead of its time, and never got the upgrade it could have seen.  The PC Green was and still is a great color for rolling stock, IMHO.  The later is what keeps me a PC loyalist. 

 

I look forward to the eventual release of the CNJ and PC models.  They each will get a spot on my collection and layout 

 

Oh, and someone please correct me if I wrong, but I am under impression MTH has claimed to do these...but I keep seeing Lionel mentioned now. So is it Lionel or MTH?  Both possibly?

TJ, in MTH's 2012 vol. 2 catalog it states: MTH Electric Trains will be promoting three different production runs of locomotives based on the recently announced Norfolk Southern Heritage Series locomotives. The Norfolk Southern Heritage series will be featured over the next three catalogs, concluding with the 2013 Volume 2 catalog. Each locomotive will ship in special Norfolk Southern Heritage Series packaging. (pg. 66 in 2012 vol. 2 catalog)..........rogerw.

No offense to you PC fans, but Ditto!  The one thing this paint scheme has going for it is that it should be the easiest to return to a normal NS paint scheme when that day eventually arrives.

 

Curt

The PC scheme looks superb. It looks more like a piece of industrial equipment - which is all a locomotive is, after all - than some of the circus-clown paint schemes ("heritage"

and otherwise) that all too many diesel-electrics have worn.

 

If it is made, I will probably buy it - to complement my lightning-striped unit (if that gets

made, actually; NYC fans are...spotty in their support). 

 

Off-subject: go see "Rock of Ages"; the 1980's were pretty much like that. Miss 'em.

(Well, I miss being young.)

Actually, I lived along an Erie Lackawanna branch line (a MAJESTIC paint job and AWESOME SD45-2s That I never got to see), GP35s were the biggest units that came up my way on the EL. Therefore, I would get on my bicycle and ride several miles to watch the Penn Central SD45s, C-630s and other MONSTERS as they ripped up CP-4 in Warners, NY. I look back FONDLY on both experiences. If history is educational, PC has a message that is probably the most important one for the public to know about. That message is that discriminatory subsidy and regulation nearly destroyed the railroad industry and we can't ever let that happen again. I hereby submit that the PC heritage unit tells NS's message better than  any of the others, even the GORGEOUS NS (original) and the soon to be released IT unit. 

Nice one Rusty.  You're right on Traque...

Ah, the Penn Central logo. One of the very few times you can use the phrase, "Mating Worms." 

Very poor management, inflation and the government's imposition on the merger deal killed the Penn Central from the beginning. The U.S. forced them to include the NY, New Haven and Hartford and other smaller roads but eventually withdrew the $200  million promised to finance it.

Probably worst of all, Top management was primarily financial types who put the deal together and had not a clue how to properly run a railroad.

 

I am a narrow-minded modeler of Southern and N&W steam but I am glad to see Norfolk Southern painting up a Penn Central--important part of U.S. rail history.

Geez Ben, The PC is one of my favorites. I grew up with it in the late 60's and early 70's. Always loved the scheme. You have to remember that both railroads where bankrupt and when you have no money, keeping the equipment clean is not a priority. The ROW also took a beating. But in the end it was not a good match and poor Conrail and Amtrak paid the price for all the deferred maintenance. The PRR and NYC also deferred maintenance for some years before the merger so when the Merger did happen, Penn Central never had a chance. Even Septa complained about the maintenance of the infrastructure that the PRR ignored for many years, especially the signal systems and the overhead wire. It took many millions of dollars to upgrade it. A job that Septa did not want to do or even run the trains. They wanted no part of it but were forced into it. I had friends and relatives who worked for the Penn Central and to a man they all blamed the PRR and the NYC for the mess they found themselves in. Penn Central tried their best but their hands were tied.     

Both Lionel and MTH will make all the Heritage paint schemes. MTH cataloged the first 4 in the 2012 VOL. 2 that came out in April.

now as a child growing up in the 80's i grew up with conrail and amtrak... but Penn Central holds a special place in my heart. i've mentioned it before when penn central was brought up, i would stay with my grandmother during the summer while my mom worked (free child care) and she would walk us down to Lancaster Train station. we would sit on the platform and watch the trains, mostly AEM-7s, could of been others... but on the far east platform was two baggage car's. i believe NYC cars, but they had the mating worm PC logo on them. i was always facinated with them, and just wanted to see them. i know they are no longer sitting there, i think strausburg has them now, saw them listed on their roster 9146 and 9140. there was just something about them as a kid. maybe it was their peeling paint, or their uniqueness. since then i've always had a thing for penn central.

 

I left the PRR in'67 for military leave.  When I came back in '69 it was PC.  It wasn't pretty when I left, but it was d**n sure ugly when I returned.  I never drew a PC check.  I'll pass on models of this one.

"It reminds me of losing three of my favorite railroads"

 

New York Central, Pennsylvania, and ???

Too bad PC didn't apply it back in the day, as it dresses up what was an otherwise depressing paint job.

 

Every time I think about the PC the word DEPRESSING comes to mind.  What a waste of good RRs and good men.

So true, February 1, 1968, another day of infamy. this is one I will emit from my collection of models and photos for sure.

Right now, several participants in the long-standing New York Central vs. Pennsylvania feud are arming themselves against a common enemy. Others are saying "I'm blind Peg! I saw mating worms!"

 

All kidding aside, I was wondering if they were going to do this one.

 

I lived through it also Ben, I grew up across from 30th St. station, I hated those worms and still do. I hope those two weenie presidents on the PRR and NYC died broke and penniless and if they did not I hope their kids blow it all in Atlantic City.

"Additional kudos to NS for not leaving any of the major "contributors" out of their lineup."

 

Alan, I'll have to respectfully disagree with your statement. NS left out the Erie-Lackwanna. Granted, they did include the Erie and the Lackawanna, but then they also included the NYC and the Pennsylvania before they did the PC. My vote, not that it means anything, is for NS to re-include the E-L unit.

 

Of all the schemes they have done so far, this is my least favorite. OTOH, I'll stack the repainted LV and the Reading at the top.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

Chris

LVHR

ns & Pc... What's the difference? White on black with little imagination.

Now they just need to hose it down with concentrated hydrochloric acid so the paint fades and starts to peel and rust. Ideally they'd have painted it jade green under the black so it shows through when the paint peels.

its not black! its brunswick green!

 

NS is black!

New Haven.   I watched New York Central in Weehawken and the West side of manhattan.  Watched the Pennsy in Sunnyside.  And watched the New Haven run rectifiers down the Bay Ridge branch of the Long Island.  Then poof  Rust and rot